Fatum Betula, or fate birch, is about a tree of life or something- You’re set to fill the water that feeds the roots of said tree with different liquids, these determine the future of humanity blah blah blah.Before we get to that, the game itself is quite beautiful and artsy, set in a ps1 aesthetic (which is captured quite well), some nicely designed characters and a cryptic setting. Unlike the other games I’ve played recently, of which are quite wacky surreal, this is more normal in a way. The setting is surreal in a cryptic sense; the atmosphere is liminal and the fog is dense, sometimes it’s hard to see the entire map (each location is somewhat small anyway). Playing the game I was expected to encounter a jumpscare or something cryptic just because of the atmosphere, but it never *truly* does. I got spooked towards the end, one of the sequences is surreal yet simple, it’s all tangible and real conventions but there’s something unsettling about the moon phase, or the redness of the sea (yadda **** as simple as the game is I think the aesthetic and the art is what drives this home, it’s clean and pretty and simple and effective and i love how this game works. The endings are all somewhat philosophical, thinkers, no matter the outcome there’s always some twist or downside to your “choice”. The way the puzzles and choices are setup are interesting and unexpected, it’s all about thinking ahead and wondering what works with what. Cool game, I love writing that has good / ominous one liners, really interesting **** 8.7/10

The pleasant aesthetic and a soundtrack that mixes between calm, scary and uncomfortable was enough for the experience to be good. I'm not a big fan of games that seek depth through shallow criticism or leftist propaganda, but this one wasn't bad.